


Things Unseen and Things Unsaid

by whumpsie_daisy



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: "i can't see", FebuWhump2021, Febuwhumpday18, Field Surgery, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, febuwhumpday17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:09:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29556822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whumpsie_daisy/pseuds/whumpsie_daisy
Summary: There was an arrow sticking out of Link’s back.Zelda had watched in stunned silence as Link hobbled back to the cave he’d all but thrown her into for safety. Naturally he’d dealt with the ambush in minutes, wiping out an entire tribe of bokoblins while barely breaking a sweat. Or at least, that was how it had seemed before he slumped down in the mouth of the cave with her.When Link takes an arrow to the back, he has to rely on Zelda's help to fix him up. This leads to some revelations for Zelda which might be the very spark she needs. Not that she'd tell Link that though.
Kudos: 41
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Things Unseen and Things Unsaid

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so I'm like 2 days late with this one, and it's a double prompt, but who cares. It's time to hurt our hero! Let's go.

There was an arrow sticking out of Link’s back. 

Zelda had watched in stunned silence as Link hobbled back to the cave he’d all but thrown her into for safety. Naturally he’d dealt with the ambush in minutes, wiping out an entire tribe of bokoblins while barely breaking a sweat. Or at least, that was how it had seemed before he slumped down in the mouth of the cave with her. 

Then she’d seen the arrow. It was a nasty looking thing, with tiny barbs up the side of it where it jutted out from Link’s shoulder blade. She couldn’t help the small gasp of surprise at seeing the Hero of Legend injured. He never got injured. She watched as he tried to slouch against the cave wall, aborting the move with a grunt of pain. Catching the glance he threw her way, Zelda realised she was staring. “I’m sorry, are you alright?” she asked, taking a tentative step from where she’d been hiding. 

It might have been a heavy breath, but it sounded like the knight laughed softly. Zelda felt her cheeks warm as he smirked to himself. “That was a stupid question, of course you’re not alright - there’s an arrow sticking out of your back.” 

Link grimaced at her words. He twisted to look over his shoulder, spotting the fletching protruding from his back. “Yeah, I should - I should probably do something with that,” he sighed. His hand snaked over his shoulder as he fumbled for the arrow. 

Suddenly Zelda felt like she was intruding, that Hylia’s chosen hero in pain was not for her to see. She spun on her heel, returning to the packs she had stashed behind a large rock and shouldered the smaller of the two. The other bag sat there, looking unassuming and innocent as its carrier struggled behind her. Would he still be able to carry such a heavy pack while wounded, she wondered. 

After the fifth frustrated hiss of pain, Zelda turned from where she was repacking her bag (again). For all that she’d lamented his silence in the past, she was coming to realise that Link was actually very expressive. “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly. 

The tips of Link’s ears turned red when he was embarrassed, Zelda noted, adding that information to the mental file on her appointed knight. He looked like a startled rabbit, all wide eyes and ramrod straight back. The muscle in his jaw twitched as he seemed to struggle to find the words to say. 

“Do you need some help?” Zelda prompted, putting down the shirt she’d been folding. 

At first it seemed he was going to refuse her, but after a couple of long seconds, Link nodded. “There’s barbs and it needs stitching once it’s out and I - I can’t see,” he explained quickly. He took a steadying breath before continuing, the efficient knight slipping into place. “There’s gauze and a suture kit in my pack, and hopefully a healing elixir too,” he said, catching her eye over his shoulder. 

The thought of stitching him up made Zelda’s stomach turn. She’d sewn the tunic he currently wore, but sewing his very skin back together, that felt like too much. Still, she couldn’t very well let him die of infection out here. Not when they’d finally started getting along. 

With her mind made up, Zelda nodded. A quick rummage in his pack gave her the necessary tools, which she gathered in her arms as carefully as she could. “Alright,” she said as she came to kneel behind Link. Her eyes immediately caught on the ragged tear in the tunic, just below his right shoulder blade. No wonder he couldn’t reach to deal with it himself, she thought. It seemed he’d already snapped the majority of the arrow off in his attempt to self-administer first-aid. It would make removing it more difficult, probably, but made this next part a lot easier. “Can you take your shirt off, please?”

Now she knew what to look for, Zelda instantly spotted the bright blush work its way up Link’s neck and tint the tips of his ears. As he dithered with the hem of his shirt, Zelda couldn’t quite suppress a smile. That smile waned, however, when he pulled the fabric over his head with an almost silent groan, revealing pale, toned shoulders that were already littered with scars. Some looked recent enough to have been received while under her employ, she realised. Guilt coiled in her chest as she studied what would become the latest in this tapestry of injuries. 

“You’ll need to make the wound a bit bigger to get the head out,” Link explained, passing her a small, sharp dagger. Zelda took it with a silent nod and tried not to let her hand shake as she pressed it against the edge of the wound. If Link felt it, he didn’t show it. Fresh blood fell down his back in little streams, staining his skin and following the curve of his spine. “Good,” he said, though his voice sounded rougher now. “In the kit, there should be a pair of tweezers you can use to get it out.” 

Rather than dwell on the gruesome task, Zelda marvelled at how verbose he was being. Before their visit to Gerudo Town a week back, she had barely gotten a word out of him; that was a far cry from the trembling, rough words that spilled from his mouth now. She wondered if this was for her benefit, calmly guiding her through the steps so she knew what to do, or perhaps it was for his own - a way of distracting from the pain? Either way, Zelda was glad of it. 

Resting her hand against the weeping wound, she peered at the jagged arrowhead embedded in his flesh. It looked deep, and already the edges of the wound looked ragged and inflamed. With the careful precision that came from years of needlework practice with her tutors, Zelda nipped the arrow and tugged. At first it seemed to come free with no issues, then one of the barbs snagged beneath the skin and Link groaned into a tightly curled fist. “Sorry! I’m sorry.” Zelda jumped backwards, snatching both her hands away. 

Once they’d both calmed a bit, Zelda shifted closer again. She could see where it had caught and realised that this wasn’t going to be a simple job. It seemed she would need to wiggle the arrowhead free, taking longer and probably causing more damage below the surface. From the look on Link’s face when she told him, he’d already resigned himself to the pain. He took a deep, steadying breath before nodding. “Just do it.” 

The muscles in his shoulders tensed in anticipation and Zelda could see the indentations in his fist where he’d already bitten down on it as he brought his hand to his mouth again. Without another word, she set to work, gently teasing the barbed head from beneath his skin and doing her best to ignore the small hisses and grunts that escaped between Link’s gritted teeth. 

Finally, the arrow came free, slipping from her grasp and clinking against the stone at her feet. Link deflated like a pierced Octorok balloon, sagging forward until his head rested on his knee. Allowing him a couple of minutes to compose himself, Zelda gently wiped away the blood that ran freely down his back. The shirt she’d been folding earlier was soft and clean, and made a decent rag for mopping up the blood. 

After a minute had passed and she had readied her needle, she warned him of the arduous task ahead. “I’m going to start stitching it now, unless you want me to wait a minute?”

Link shook his head, huffing out a breath and squaring his shoulders. “No, let’s just get it over with.” 

Much more confident in her sewing than her extraction abilities, Zelda made quick work of stitching shut the wound, leaving a neat, thin line along the ridge of his shoulder blade. Link was a lot quieter this time, as if he knew that she didn’t need coaching through this part. Glancing up at his face as she reached the final stitch, Zelda noticed the far-off look in his eyes. He looked so much younger when he wasn’t focused on being the perfect knight. She wondered how she hadn’t seen it before. 

“There, all done.”

Link startled slightly at her voice, blinking the daze from his eyes. He turned to look at her with a tight smile. “Thank you, Princess. I - I… thank you.” 

Returning the smile, Zelda began to tidy up around herself as Link fought with his shirt. “It was no problem, I’m glad I could help.” She watched from the corner of her eye as Link struggled to his feet, biting back a groan as the stitches pulled. For a moment, Zelda was worried he was going to topple over as he swayed unsteadily on his feet. Then with a hand against the cave wall, he righted himself and looked out at the darkening sky. Zelda followed his gaze, nibbling at her lip. “Perhaps we could camp here for tonight?” she asked, rising to meet him. “It’s been rather a long day and I don’t fancy travelling at night.” 

Before he could reply or allow guilt to seep in, Zelda began readying their impromptu campsite, emptying packs and unravelling bedrolls beside a small pile of wood. She tried a couple of times to light the wood and get a fire going, huffing in frustration after her fourth failed attempt. 

Gentle, calloused hands took the flint from her, striking it with ease and sending a shower of sparks onto the kindling below. Link was barely holding back a smirk and Zelda almost whacked him before remembering the injury she’d just spent so long working on. Instead she glowered at the fire as if it had offended her personally. Night drew in quickly after that as they huddled together beside the fire roasting mushrooms they’d picked on their journey. 

By the time the moon was high in the sky, they had settled into their bedrolls. Link was curled up beneath the thin blanket he’d procured and was facing the mouth of the cave, the Master Sword within easy grip. Moonlight danced across his sharp cheekbones and bleached his golden blond hair a pale yellow, like flax. Unable to sleep, Zelda watched the steady rise and fall of his shoulders. Her eyes lingered on the thick white bandage that poked above the collar of his shirt and she wondered, not for the first time, how many times he would have to sacrifice himself for her safety. While this time had not proven fatal, Zelda feared the time was drawing near when he would have to decide between his own life and hers. The thought made her shudder as a strange, fierce warmth fluttered deep within her chest. In a silent prayer to the goddess, she promised herself that she would never let it get that far. Her powers would surface before then… they had to.


End file.
